The summer of 2011 has been hard on lawns. If you need to plant, or in many cases replant your fescue lawn, mid- September through October is excellent. With cooler nights, milder days and rain, fescue seeds will germinate quickly.

For many years the best known fescue has been Kentucky 31. It is durable and still used as a pasture grass. As a lawn grass Kentucky 31 tends to be coarse and clumpy unless seeded thickly and well-tended.

September 07, 2011|
By Clark Beusse
For the Dawson Community News
|Lifestyle Columnists

Many trees around Dawson County are showing dieback and decline symptoms.

Twig or branch dieback is initiated in the tree as a response to poor growth conditions and/or pest attack. Usually a combination of physical, climatic, and pest problems lead to the tree shutting off some of its outside portions.

August 17, 2011|
By Clark Beusse
For the Dawson Community News
|Lifestyle Columnists

It is important to know about ticks for several reasons. They can carry Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and may cause further infection if their mouthparts break off when the ticks are removed.

The three species of ticks throughout Georgia that commonly feed on humans are the lone star tick, American dog tick and black-legged tick.

July 20, 2011|
By Clark Beusse
For the Dawson Community News
|Lifestyle Columnists

While most of us are familiar with common poisonous plants that cause dermatitis (skin irritations) such as poison ivy or poison oak, we fail to recognize common ornamental plants in the landscape that may cause internal poisoning when ingested.

Although most adults would not intentionally eat the leaves or fruit of ornamental plants in the landscape, young children or pets sometimes do.

June 29, 2011|
By Clark Beusse
For the Dawson Community News
|Lifestyle Columnists

Every year about this time I receive calls related to how to grow daylilies.

Daylilies can be grown successfully in all areas of Georgia. They are frequently seen growing under adverse conditions. However, this does not mean that they thrive on neglect. Those who specialize in growing daylilies are aware that nice foliage, quality flower, and repeat blooming are dependent on proper culture.

June 15, 2011|
By Clark Beusse
For the Dawson Community News
|Lifestyle Columnists

The recent rain was great, but with high temperatures we may soon be back in drought conditions. You cannot completely "drought-proof" your landscape, however, steps can be taken to help plants survive periods of limited rainfall. The most obvious way is to select and grow plants known to have a high degree of drought tolerance. There are also a number of cultural/management practices that will help conserve moisture in the soil and minimize the amount of water-demanding new growth.

First, make certain plants have a generous supply of mulch over their root system. Three to five inches of mulch ...

June 08, 2011|
By Clark Beusse
For the Dawson Community News
|Lifestyle Columnists